Key Points
- I’m taking on Jango Baie in the Grade 1 Bowl Chase
- The rest of the field have questions to answer too, so I’ll bet against them!
- I’d rather take a chance on the 16/1 outsider who should love this race
It’s Day 1 of the 2026 Grand National meeting at Aintree, where we have three great days of horse racing action with the feature race taking place on Saturday! For a punter and tipster like me, who likes to look for value, the opening day is a tough one with a lot of smaller fields and/or strong favourites. However, I have found a horse at 16/1 who is worth backing. It seems more logical to go for one at a decent price than to advise a short-priced favourite you could pick for yourself.
If you’re just finding my content here as a result of searching for Aintree related content or tips, then welcome! I’m Gav, and I’m better known as RacingGav both here at Betting.co.uk and on X. I have been the resident horse racing expert for Betting.co.uk since March 2025, where my primary focus is to provide you with
free horse racing tips.
As well as my work here, you might also be interested to know that I run my own Discord server, which was launched in January 2024. You’ll find the full details for this at the bottom of today’s article. So, if you want more than just my free tips, be sure to check it out!
Betting advice
- 14:55 Aintree -
Pic d’Orhy
@ 16/1 -
0.5pt Win
Back Pic d’Orhy with PricedUp for £20 in free bets!
At the time of writing, Pic d’Orhy is generally priced at 14/1. However, a handful of bookmakers are offering the best horse racing odds at 16/1, and one of those is PricedUp! As well as great odds, they also have a special offer for new customers. If you deposit and bet £40, you’ll get £20 in free bets. With the Aintree Festival running today, tomorrow and Saturday, those free bets will come in handy.
It would be some story if Pic d’Orhy wins the Bowl!
If there is one thing that makes racing great, it’s the story behind horses and their triumphs. The 11-year-old Pic d’Orhy already has his own stories to tell, and winning the Grade 1 Bowl Chase here at the Grand National Festival would be another. He surpassed £1,000,000 in career earnings last time out, and arguably it was one of his best performances. Despite his age, I think he could cause an upset in this tricky race.
I’m taking on Jango Baie in the Grade 1 Bowl Chase
As mentioned already, the opening day of the 2026 Aintree Grand National Festival is a day for the favourites. Selma De Vary, Lulamba, Barton Snow, Brighterdaysahead, and Sans Bruit all look to have very strong cases. As does Princess Day in the Mares’ Bumper, but I wouldn’t be taking a short price in a race like that. One of the shortest priced of them all is Jango Baie, and he’s the one I'm taking on.
On bare form, Jango Baie should simply win this race. However, the Cheltenham Gold Cup is a gruelling race, and it can often leave its mark on the horses. Sometimes it's the horses who finish in second that get hit the hardest, as they’ve given their all but came up short, which is a physical and mental toll. That said, this is only his fourth run of the season and his three prior runs were all on Good or Good to Soft going.
If I were backing favourites, the after effects of a tough race at Cheltenham would be one of my biggest concerns, In this particular race it’s relevant to one of the shortest priced favourites today, which is why Jango Baie is the one I'm taking on.
The rest of the field have questions to answer too, so I’ll bet against them!
We only have five runners in total, and I've already discussed Jango Baie. Ignoring Pic d’Orhy for a minute, the other three horses all have questions of their own to answer today. Up first we have Impaire Et Passe for the Willie Mullins stable. He’s hard to trust here, especially at 7/2, shorter in places, considering how badly he ran when pulling up in the Ryanair Chase at the Cheltenham Festival. That said, he is has a two from two record at the Aintree Grand National Festivalwhich must be respected.
Next we have Spillane’s Tower, but I'm not convinced he will participate here. He wants Soft going, and it’s only Good to Soft currently, so connections may well wait for the Grand National on Saturday, or simply skip the meeting altogether. If he does run, I’d take him on with conditions against him.
That leaves us with two 11-year-olds, Protektorat and Pic d’Orhy. For now, let’s focus on the former who runs for the Dan Skelton stable. He is a very solid horse who has 10 victories to his name with three of those at Grade 1 level. However, against the top superstars, he has often come up just short. He is also arguably at his best on softer ground, which is a concern here. Although, he did skip Cheltenham, so he comes here fresh. If it was softer and/or his price was bigger than 7/1, I’d be tempted to play him here against Jango Baie here.
I’d rather take a chance on Pic d’Orhy who should love this race
The final contender and the one I’ve landed on here is Pic d’Orhy for the Paul Nicholls yard. As you can see from the above, this is a trappy little race with a lot of ifs, buts and maybes, so 16/1 for Pic d’Orhy looks a big price to me. He is a 15-time winner who has amassed over £1,000,000 in earnings duringt his career, which is a remarkable achievement. Like fellow 11-year-old, Protectorat, three of Pic d’Orhy's wins were in Grade 1 company.
They say age is just a number, but he seems to embody that, as two of his three runs this season have been as good as any he has produced in his career, despite not winning either of them. First time out he gave it a really good go in the Charlie Hall Chase, but he was just denied by Djelo, after the pair gave their rivals weight and a beating that day. Djelo subsequently followed up in the Peterborough Chase next time out. Last time out, Pic d’Orhy had a real ding dong with the great Jonbon, and was just touched off there as well. The pair were up against inferior rivals, but two of them, Blow Your Wad and Heltenham, have both won nice Handicaps since.
Pic d’Orhy has course form, he’s in career best form, and he seems to want 3m these days. He also gets better ground, and he’s been kept fresh since Ascot in February. I think Pic d’Orhy will attempt to make all here, or at least race prominently. If he gets into a rhythm, I think he'll be difficult to stop, especially as he has gears that Spillane’s Tower and Protektorat won’t have on this type of going. With Impaire Et Passe needing to put a bad run behind him, and Jango Baie potentially affected by a tough Gold Cup run, Pic d’Orhy may not get reeled in.
Can Pic d’Orhy cause a shock in the Bowl?
There are certainly plenty of positives in Pic d’Orhy’s favour. His recent form, the fact he’s a course winner, the trip, the ground, the most importantly, the fact that he bypassed Cheltenham and consequently comes here fresh.
In terms of the negatives, he is 11 years old now and if the rest of the field turns up in top form and make no mistakes, he will be up against it here. Arguably the younger horses are as good as him or in the case of Jango Baie, even better and they also have potential improvement on their side.
However, I think that 16/1 underestimates Pic d’Orhy’s chances, especially when his rivals have questions to answer.There’s a risk Jango Baie flops, but if he fires, this race is wide open. Given the level of risk, it’s just half stakes today, and as there are just five in the field, I’ll be playing win only.
Take a look at these fantastic free bet deals!
Here are some superb
betting offers for horse racing
that are currently available from our partner bookmakers. With such fantastic deals available, it’s worth taking a few minutes to check them out!
Want more RacingGav content? Join my Discord!
While I produce several articles per week for Betting.co.uk, the vast majority of my content is exclusive to members of my Discord server. It’s the only place where you can access all of my betting tips and much more!
The Discord launched back in January 2024 and it’s still going now, so I must be doing something right!
April 2026 is off to a flyer, with three winners already on the board at 14/1, 40/1 and 14/1 as well as many more big priced places!
I’m sure you are wondering how much all of this will cost you? Well, it’s just £14.99 per month - less than 50p per day!
Alternatively, you may prefer a longer-term commitment for savings:
- Quarterly: ÂŁ34.99 (saves ÂŁ9.98)
- Bi-Annually: ÂŁ74.99 (saves ÂŁ14.95)
- Annually: ÂŁ149.99 (saves ÂŁ29.89)
I’m so confident that you’ll enjoy the Discord that I offer
a 7-day free trial. And I’m also confident that my tips will make a profit, so if you join and don’t make a profit across your first 30 days, I’ll refund your subscription fee!
If you want to know more, my DMs are always open on X – @RacingGav
The latest sports news with betting.co.uk
by Racing Gav
14 hours ago
The latest sports news with betting.co.uk
The latest sports news with betting.co.uk
The latest sports news with betting.co.uk
